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The benefits bill would soar in a separate Scotland and ministers would be
forced to cut public spending or raise taxes if they wanted to reverse UK
policies such as the bedroom tax, according to a leading think-tank.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said that while an independent
government could change the system to better suit Scottish priorities, “any
major redesign of the system would require Scotland to either spend rather
more on benefits . . . or else create large numbers of losers”.

The report is a blow to the Scottish government’s attempt to paint an
independent Scotland as a